Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Douglas Ross said: "The Scottish Government may crow about what it sees as record-low levels of crime. "But that doesn't tell the whole story, and will be of no comfort to the increasing number of victims of sexual crime.

"Reporting of historic crime may make up part of this, but it's clear there is an extremely alarming trend here.

"These are among the most traumatic crimes that can take place, and we owe it to the public to ensure the levels of these crimes reduce rather than increase.

"Despite this, the SNP is presiding over a system of community sentencing which sees some serious criminals like rapists and child sex offenders escaping jail.

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Liam Arthur said 'the SNP need to bring an end to the complacency'

"That sends out the wrong message, and has to change as a matter of urgency."

Although clear-up rates were up to 51.6 per cent, the Scottish Liberal Democrats said Police Scotland was still not getting enough support from ministers.

Justice spokesman Liam McArthur McArthur said: "Police officers and staff work around the clock to keep us safe but the SNP are taking them for granted. We hear reports on a regular basis of staff shortages, closed custody suites, low morale, high sickness

rates and a call centre system under real strain. The SNP need to bring an end to the complacency and give the support to Police Scotland that it needs."

Senior officers believe the rise in sex crimes was partly driven by a greater willingness to report attacks and also increased reporting of historic crimes. A similar upwards trend has also been recorded in the other Home Nations.

However, almost one in four sex crimes last year involved a child, a fact which was described as "extremely concerning" by NSPCC Scotland.

Matt Forde, the charity's national head of service, said: "We know from our own research that the number of child sex offences reported to police continues to rise.

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The Scottish Lib Dems said Police Scotland was still not getting enough support from ministers

"It is vital that the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and others tackle this very real problem with the urgency it needs."

Eleven council areas bucked the nationwide trend for falling overall crime rates, with the Shetland Islands experiencing a rise of 39 per cent driven largely by drug offences.

Other areas - Dumfries and Galloway up 19 per cent, Moray up 12 per cent and Aberdeenshire and Highland, both up 10 per cent - were among those most concerned about centralisation when Police Scotland was formed.

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said he was "very pleased" about the reductions in drug crime, theft and handling offensive weapons.

He added: "While higher levels of recorded sexual crime are broadly in line with UK trends, include a significant number of historical cases and may reflect greater willingness by victims to come forward, such incidents are completely unacceptable. This is why we have taken tough action to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice."

Mr Matheson pointed to more than £30million invested in violence reduction programmes, especially violence against women, and new domestic abuse legislation.